APR. YEAR 3
MV1 Presents ... The Star Spangled Avenger ...
CAPTAIN AMERICA #482
BUILDING THE MENAGERIE
written by Mark Bousquet

From the History Books … On a distant planet, after much deliberation, Captain America aided a rebellion in their quest to overthrow an oppressive ruling class. His world turned upside down when it was revealed that the people he had been helping had once ruled the planet in a Nazi-like fashion. At Cap’s weakest moment of realization for what he had done, he vanished. In actuality, the "planet" was an advanced simulation run by Mysterio, under orders from Viper. The Falcon and Sharon Carter were held prisoner by Viper inside a HYDRA base. Sharon believes she saw the Falcon brainwashed, a notion Sam disagrees with. The grey robed stranger revealed that his name was Ethos. A young woman, in the basement of the Storm Museum, has been undergoing strange changes in her body.

VERMONT

In a secluded section of the Vermont wilderness, there stood an abandoned compound, built by a reclusive movie star back during the 1940’s. It sprawled over a ten acre lot, complete with guest bungalows, swimming pools, archery ranges, natural rivers and man made ponds.

It’s perimeter was lined by a magnetic pulse dome that let nothing but the air pass through it’s clear energy field. It completely hid the compound from the view of the outside world, making them believe they were looking at nothing but forest.

The EMP dome was a newer addition, put in place by the Compound’s new owner.

Viper.

The Former Madame Hydra walked through the empty compound she had dubbed the Menagerie.

The buildings and the grounds had been in disrepair when she purchased the facility after the last go round with the Sons of the Serpent. * She had paid handsomely for the workers to complete the repairs in such short notice, but the cost didn’t matter to Viper. It was the reason she had returned to HYDRA. It was easy to divert funds and funnel money to personal accounts inside such an organization.

* ( Captain America 458 - 462 - Back Issue Mark )

She had plans for the Menagerie. Here she would build her destiny.

Here she would build an empire.

Here she would construct the defeat of Captain America.

New York City - The Offices of Marvel Comics

Steve Rogers carried his portfolio into the front office of Marvel Comics.

"Can I help you?" asked a smiling older woman.

"Steve Rogers, here to meet-"

"Oh, you’re the guy Van has hired to draw the X-Men Annual, huh?" she asked, flipping through folders on her desk.

"Er, yes I am," Steve frowned. "I didn’t think it was that big a deal. I hope nothing’s wrong."

"Oh, don’t worry about it, Mr. Rogers," the woman smiled. "He’s had a hard time finding someone to do it, is all. You’d think he wouldn’t - there are enough struggling artists out there that you’d figure people would be jumping at the chance to draw a book."

"Not the case?"

"No," she smiled handing Steve a report folder which Steve saw was the plot for the Annual. "It’s our lowest selling book anyways, and the Annuals sell even less, so anybody who can work on something else, does. And others," she lowered her voice," others fear being blacklisted for doing it. There are a lot of people in positions of power at the company who are, shall we say, not of the mind that all our characters are created equal."

"I see," Steve answered, disturbed.

"Anyhooki, there’s the plot. Van’s not in or I’d send you in to see him. Have fun."

Steve smiled and turned around to leave the building. He’d barely spun around before his smile turned to a frown. It was a shame - no, it was a disgrace the way mutants continued to feel the persecution from certain people and more and more it seemed like those that had the troubles with mutants the most were people in power. They’d feed the hysteria constantly, stroking the flames of ignorance into that of fear.

There had to be something more he could do. But not right now. Now, he had to meet the Falcon.

The Apartment of Ashley Andersen

Ashley lay flat on her stomach on her bed, dressed in nothing but her underwear. The windows were all closed and all the shades pulled down to keep any prying eyes away from what was happening to her.

Her back ached like no physical pain she had ever known.

She tried not to scream, but the feeling of her flesh ripping to make way for the wings that were being birthed from her back was almost too much to take.

There was a knock at the door - probably that guy from downstairs who kept asking her out. Ashley had no interest in him, but it really didn’t matter. It could’ve been Brad Pitt or Captain America at the door and she wasn’t about to get up.

But through it all, the only question she could ask herself was, "Why me? Haven’t I lived through enough pain in this lifetime?"

New York City - Avengers Mansion

Captain America and the Falcon entered Avengers Mansion without talking. They had come here to put Sam Wilson under a helmet designed by Tony Stark to test for mind control. The device would scan for changes deep in the brain along a broad spectrum of tests.

Sharon Carter had stayed behind - not that Steve or the Falcon had offered for her to come along. She had made it known quite plainly that she had things to do.

If it found any oddities, the device would locate and isolate the questionable areas, in an attempt to break the mind control. If unsuccessful, it would at least provide a starting point for a more thorough, personal exam by a real doctor.

Sam and Steve walked through the halls without seeing another Avenger, or even Jarvis, the team’s longtime butler.

They didn’t talk. There wasn’t much to say.

Sam did not want to have to go through with this. He was adamant that Viper was putting on a show for some reason, but what he wasn’t sure. Sharon was just as adamant that there had to be something. Viper wouldn’t have gone through the entire ordeal just for the charade of it. She had been personally involved and Sharon couldn’t see Viper wasting her time on a simple trick. She had to have been doing something to Sam.

Steve Rogers felt awful. Not about subjecting Sam to a mind scan - though he didn’t want to do it - but about what he had done on Beckque. It bothered him, nagged at his mind just beneath the surface.

He knew he’d have to make revisions to how he handled himself. He knew he’d have to re-examine every aspect of his life from a new perspective, to make sure he wasn’t making similar mistakes even now.

Steve knew the power that symbols held and he knew full well that he was a symbol - both a good one and a bad one - to many people around the world. He knew that he had become a symbol of hope for the Olanans and a symbol of hate for the Carpans.

And he knew how that had shaken out.

He’d have to give more thought to those who opposed him. No, not the folks like the Red Skull and Baron Zemo, but the average folks around the world. The citizens of those countries that weren’t friendly with the United States - how did they view Cap and how much did their ill thoughts have merit?

They entered a lab in the basement and Steve moved to turn on the machines that would power up the helmet for the scan on Sam.

"I don’t want to do this, Steve," Sam cautioned. "I just have serious reservations about anything playing with my mind, whatever the intentions are."

"I know, Sam."

"But still."

"Still."

The two longtime friends stood looking at each other for a moment. Steve knew Sam didn’t want to subject himself to this. Sam knew Steve wanted to trust him, but couldn’t run the risk of the Falcon walking around thinking nothing was wrong while orders from Viper hid themselves away from his conscious mind. It was a matter of safety and Sam knew that no matter what their friendship was - no matter how strong the bond between them - Cap was a professional and the professional thing to do was submit Sam to a mind scan.

Sam knew all this.

He still didn’t want to do it and the fact that Steve was basically making him do it bothered him.

Then the alarm rang.

Two Hours Ago …

The Menagerie

Viper walked into the security control room inside her plush new compound, smiling despite the seriousness. She knew from personal experience that one of the major flaws of villains was their inability to control their own ego. They became so pleased with the brilliance of their plan and their first baby steps of success that they fooled themselves into thinking that the rest of their plan would fall like dominoes.

Viper was determined to not fall into that trap.

Still, the Menagerie was a dream come true. A base from where she could launch any number of operations against any number of opponents. A base from which she could build an empire.

In style.

If one was going to do something, one needed to be aware of what they were doing and how they came across.

Look at AIM.* The poor fools with their stupid bright yellow uniforms and their large square heads. They looked pathetic, like a background texture tossed onto a James Bond film.

* ( AIM - Advanced Idea Mechanics - My Aim Is True Mark )

The problem with AIM and HYDRA, Viper knew, was that they had become bloated and lost their focus. She could’ve spent her time and effort into taking over HYDRA, but HYDRA was now and forever the child of Baron von Strucker. Viper had no want to become Madame Hydra again.

No, she wanted to create something new. Something that was hers and hers alone. Something that wouldn’t fall into the trappings that AIM and HYDRA had suscepted themselves to.

She would recruit the right kind of people. Not the kind that she could trust - she was not fool enough to believe that anyone could be trusted.

No, Viper wanted only one kind of person - the kind she could control. The kind that had no dreams of power beyond their personal sphere. She wanted those that had no want to lead empires, who’s only wants were for money and leisure.

She strolled by a large indoor pool, knowing that this is where she would make many of her sales pitches to those she would try to recruit into her new organization. She knew that if you could put on the proper presentation, you could convince almost anyone to do almost anything.

And for the muscle that Viper would seek to acquire, there could be fewer settings more conducive to her wishes than a luxurious compound - filled with anything one could want to please themselves - be it drugs or money or sex.

"Paul!" she called out as she entered into one of the guest quarters that were housed inside the main building.

"Hello, Viper," the young man smiled in return as he turned away from his computer. "I was searching the internet for any information we could use in our quest to avenge my father’s death!"

"Very well, Paul," Viper congratulated but didn’t bother to ask about what he had found. Paul Gentry was a tool, a young body that she could mold and twist and use for her personal whims. She patted the young man on his shoulder, enjoying the way he shuddered beneath her touch. Some were so easy to use.

"It’s just like you said it would be, Viper," Paul said angrily. "The mass media reports, from the Bugle and the local network newscasts, all quote Captain America saying what an honored foe my father was and how it was a fluke that my father died. Bah! But these other sites, written by average folks who were there, they claim, tell a different tale. About how my father was used by Captain America to help him gain entry into the Serpent Society’s headquarters. It makes me so angry!" Paul Gentry slammed his fist onto the table.

"All those years growing up," Viper started as she massaged the young Gentry’s shoulders, "you lived alone with your mother, hating your father for abandoning you when you were only a little child. You rebelled young, as young men are want to do, especially those without a strong male influence in your life. You got into trouble day after day after day, hating your father all the more. But you weren’t a bad kid, were you Paul? Sure, you stole a car, but what teen-aged boy doesn’t want to steal a car? You just had the guts to act on those impulses. Eventually you were brought into HYDRA as a ground level soldier, recruited by a friend of a friend - the natural way these things work. Still, you hated your father.

"But you had no idea, did you, Paul," she smiled, so enjoying the twisting of the proverbial knife as the kill became inevitable, "what your father’s true story really was?"

"No," he answered, his eyes staring at the screen in front of him, absorbing all he could about the "real" truth in regards to Captain America. "Not until you told me, Viper."

"You had no idea that the United States’ Army - that same damnable entity that Captain America has *prospered* for - drove your father out of it’s ranks by trying to steal his creation. Why should those like Tony Stark have made millions while your father was forced to toil in anonymity for pennies? The Army drove him away from your family, didn’t they, Paul?"

"Yes!"

"But your father was a brave man, Paul. I knew him well," Viper lied as she continued to pull whatever strings she needed to bind Paul Gentry to her will. "If it wasn’t for Captain America, he would have returned to you and your mother with the money he continued to make, only to have Captain America take it from him time and time again!"

"It makes me so angry, Viper!" Paul spat.

"I know, Paul," Viper soothed. "It was fortunate for us both that I discovered you toiling away for HYDRA, wasn’t it?"

"Yes."

"And they treated you much the same way that the Army treated your father, didn’t they?"

"Yes!"

"I know what it’s like, Paul. To be used by an organization. That’s why I left HYDRA and volunteered to take you with me. I know that you and I are very much the same. We only want what we deserve." She smiled, grounding her hands deep into Paul’s shoulders. "And what you deserve is to wear an updated version of your father’s battlesuit. To kill Captain America!"

"YES!" Paul stood up and spun around to face Viper. "I can not thank you enough, Viper, for giving me this opportunity."

"Go, Paul," Viper said proudly. "Go and make me proud of you. Go and claim your destiny."

"I shall not disappoint you!"

Paul ran out of the room, heading for the Menagerie’s weapons facility. Viper smiled to the empty room, "The poor fool. He is much the same loser as his father was. He has no chance at defeating Captain America. Not at this time, anyways, and probably not ever, which is why I outfitted the costume with a teleportation belt that cost me a fortune." She smiled. "Cost Hydra a fortune, that is …"

She left the room and headed for the main viewing room, a massive structure that enabled her to view almost any piece of electronic data that was bounced through the air. Here, she would watch Paul be taken out by Captain America and assure that he - and more importantly, the suit - were not lost to the authorities.

Paul was not important, but when she discovered him and who his father was, she knew she could use it. He wasn’t a bad kid at all, she discovered after talking to him and that could cause a problem at some point. But for now she knew that what he lacked was self-confidence and that he burned to please the missing father he never knew.

In other words, he was the perfect lackey.

But despite all that, he would forever hold a place in Viper’s cold heart as the first member of her new criminal empire. An empire that she was sure would one day be her legacy to the world.

And now, with Paul Gentry on his way to New York City, the first steps were being taken.

Present

New York City

Captain America and the Falcon rushed to the site of the disturbance that the alarm had sounded them to. The place was near Steve Rogers’ apartment, reminding Steve just how much he wanted to take a shower, sit down and draw and put the last few weeks behind him. The Falcon took to the air, where he was joined by his sidekick bird, Redwing. Captain America leapt from rooftop to rooftop.

They saw cars being overturned and unconscious bodies on the ground. There was a definite trail leading around a corner and into an alley. Cap descended quickly to the ground and he rounded the corner at the same time the Falcon dove in from above.

"Alright, stop right there, we’ve got you trapped!" Captain America yelled as he saw a body moving in the shadows. The tall body stopped and turned slowly, moving back into the light. When Cap saw who it was, he gasped slightly - it was not who he was expecting to see. But he was off for not more than a fraction of a second before he recovered, his mind racing through all the data he had on his opponent.

"Surprised to see me, Captain America?" he asked. "Surprised to see … the PORCUPINE?!?!"

END CAPTAIN AMERICA 482

AMERICAN GRAFFITI

letters c/o mariner2@tiac.net

Note - because of various things - notably the Charter and my desire to write a forthcoming project, there will be no lettercol for CAPTAIN AMERICA during my run as the last five issues of my tenure on this book have all been posted on the same day. Once again, I urge you to try out a new title from one of the new authors - be it Triathalon, MV1 Saga or whatever - and send them some much appreciated feedback. Thanks for reading everyone.

-- MBQ 27.December.1998